FAQs

Established in 2013, the Swarovski Foundation brings focus to Swarovski’s historical commitment to philanthropy by supporting charitable organisations and signature programmes to achieve positive social and environmental impact.

The Swarovski Foundation's mission is to promote sustainable livelihoods through education to reduce inequality by supporting initiatives that focus on Equity, Water, and Creativity, and through two programmes: Waterschool and Creatives for Our Future.

Since its inception, the Swarovski Foundation has reached over 2 million people in 93 countries through 85 partnerships to drive progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals set out by the United Nations. You can find out more at www.swarovskifoundation.org. 

The Swarovski Foundation’s registered office is 1st Floor, Building 4 Chiswick Park, 566 Chiswick High Road, London, W4 5YE, United Kingdom. The Foundation team are based in London (United Kingdom), Wattens (Austria) and New York (USA). The Foundation operates globally through a network of international partners which includes the United Nations Office for Partnerships.

The Swarovski Foundation Creatives for Our Future programme is a global mentorship and grant initiative established in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Partnerships.

The programme aims to accelerate the next generation of creatives in sustainable development and is open to creatives aged 21-30, across various creative disciplines including jewelry, fashion, art, design, architecture, videography, photography, and engineering.

Successful applicants will receive access to financial support, tailored mentorship, educational masterclasses, and industry networking events in support of their developing practice with the programme commencing in April 2025.

The Swarovski Foundation’s mission is to promote sustainable livelihoods through education to reduce inequality by supporting initiatives focusing on Equity, Water, and Creativity, and through programmes: Waterschool and Creatives for Our Future. We are committed to advancing creative talent by leveraging all educational avenues to enhance opportunities for beneficiaries.

Within the programme framework, participants will collectively drive progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals, the blueprint for a better world by 2030 as laid out by the United Nations in 2015. The Swarovski Foundation and the United Nations recognise the creative industry’s potential for generational leadership in sustainable development.

Successful applicants will have a keen interest in, demonstration of, or exemplary potential to use the creative process to accelerate awareness, technologies, or solutions for sustainable development.

The selection criteria will consider the application of creative processes in examining social and environmental issues and accelerating sustainable development, within communities or globally, using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as a framework.

All submissions will be pre-screened based on 2 criteria:

• Validity: Did the applicant submit a fully complete application and supportive documents? Is the applicant age between 21- 30? Does the applicant have a valid passport? Did the applicant submit creative portfolio? Make sure you clear all eligibility.
• Application Quality: Did the applicant put the best efforts to answer all the questions? If the answers are short answers such as yes and no without any context or explanation, our system may disqualify your application.

All valid submissions will be evaluated based on 6 key criteria: Design and Creativity, Innovation, Potential, Feasibility and Scalability, Impact, Sustainable Development, and Funding Transparency.

1. What we mean by ‘Design and Creativity’: We will determine How creative the applicant’s concept, practice, or project is. Design and creativity is more than a medium of aesthetics and desirability – we want to see how applicants use design and creativity for their innovations in an original way. The project needs to use some type of creative medium(s) except performing arts (music, dance, and theatre) and literacy (creative writing such as poetry, novels, fictions).
2. What we mean by ‘Innovation’: We will see how innovative the applicant’s concept, practice, or project is. Is the innovation new, original and solution led? Or is it a game-changer for an existing system or idea?  
3. What we mean by ‘Potential, Feasibility and Scalability’: We will see if the applicant demonstrates exemplary potential to use the creative process to drive sustainable development, and if the applicant has a long-term vision for their initiative. Potential of the project is also an important index; if the project demonstrates high potential to be successfully scaled up and make positive change.  We need to know how the solution can be scaled up eventually to create real-world impact regardless of the current project stage. To better understand if the project is realistically feasible and practical, if the project is still at the concept stage, the applicant must explain in detail how the project will grow and adapt to a broader audience.
4. What we mean by ‘Impact’: We are looking for innovative solutions that generate a positive social, environmental, and cultural impact. For example, your project may be diverting waste from landfill or regenerating natural resources or reducing water pollution and consumption; or it may focus more on social impact through community empowerment or Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. Applicants should explain the pathways to impact through their project, i.e., the immediate, potential short-term and potential long-term positive changes created and wider benefits to society, by sharing quantitative/qualitative data to back up their vision. 
5. What we mean by ‘Sustainable Development’: Does the applicant’s concept reflect an alignment or potential to align with the Sustainable Development Goals? 
6. What we mean by ‘Funding Transparency’: How does the applicant intend on using the grant? Is the applicant’s intention for use of the grant responsible and in alignment with the programme’s objectives to further sustainable development through creativity?

Successful applicants will be required to attend all the activities offered during the programme (at least 2-3 times a month from April 2025 – April 2026), and applicants will be asked for their availability during the programme. Additionally, a high-level network event to launch the programme will take place in New York (USA), and the successful applicants will be required to travel to New York. You can find more details in the programme’s Terms & Conditions.

The Swarovski Foundation look for creative practices, research, projects, concepts, or objects reflecting an exemplary dedication and potential to drive sustainable development. 

Creative categories that are NOT supported as part of the Creatives for Our Future programme include Performing Arts (music, dance, theatre and other artistic activities performed for an audience) and literature (creative writing and journalism such as novels, stories, poems, screenplays,  essays, and song lyrics). 
The Creatives for Our Future programme aims to equip the next generation of creatives with the education and network to lead tangible innovative solutions such as, but not limited to, innovative materials, and devices to scale up sustainable production systems or to protect natural resources.

The Creatives for Our Future programme aims to support the needs of the “young adult” population by lifting financial barriers to sustainable development practices for students and young professionals. As the operational definition and nuances of the term “young adult” often varies from country to country, depending on the specific socio-cultural, institutional, economic, and political factors, the Swarovski Foundation has outlined “young adult” as being between the ages of 21 and 30 years old.

Yes, you can still apply for the programme if you turn 30 after the application deadline. Your age must be between 21 and 30 before the deadline for applications on 15th October 2024 (11.59PM GMT). 

No, you do not have to be based in a specific country to apply. The Creatives for Our Future programme is open to all creatives wherever they live. However, it is required for successful applicants to travel to New York in April 2025 to participate in programme events. Therefore, this means that we would need successful participants to confirm that they have a valid passport endorsed with all relevant visas, entry requirements and/or any other mandatory entry obligations. You can find more information in the Terms and Conditions.

No, the proposed projects do not need to integrate crystal.

No, you do not need to have a registered business or be in education to apply for the programme. The only requirement is that you provide all the information and supporting materials outlined in the application form and that your age is between 21-30 at the time of the application. You will also need to provide 1 academic/professional reference.

Applications will only be accepted from individuals and individuals who apply on behalf of their sole proprietorship or a company that they wholly own. Projects proposed by co-founders or staff applying on behalf of a company are invalid.

Online applications will be open until 15th October 2024 (11:59pm GMT) on the website www.sfcreatives.org. Successful applicants will be notified by February 2025 and announced publicly in April 2025 in New York, USA.

Once the open call for applications has ended on 15th October 2024, a review phase will begin. Application forms will be reviewed and scored by the Swarovski Foundation Selection Committee and Jury featuring experts in the creative industry and in sustainable development. Top candidates will be identified and invited to online interviews that will be held the week commencing 18th November 2024 (TBC). You are advised to keep this week and the following week free. If you fail to reply to our invitation for an interview within a limited timeframe stated in the invitation email, you may lose your position. The application panel will include leadership from the Swarovski Foundation as well as programme advocates. 
The application panel will make their final selections by marking the quality of the application (demonstration of creativity and/or innovation), the applicant’s ability to articulate how the grant, education and mentorship will contribute to their project(s), research, or creative practice, and the applicant’s exemplary potential to contribute to sustainable development.

Successful applicants will be notified by email by February 2025 as soon as the selection is complete. You are required to respond within 4 days of receiving this notification of being successful whether you will accept the prize or not in order to keep your position. In the event that a successful applicant does not wish to accept the award they must advise the Swarovski Foundation within 4 days of receiving notification. If a successful applicant rejects the award they will forfeit the award and no substitute or alternative will be available. If possible, the Swarovski Foundation will offer the award to the next top candidate.

If you have submitted your application but have not received a confirmation email within 24 hours, please contact CFOF@swarovskifoundation.org.

The fourth edition of Creatives for Our Future will run from April 2025 to April 2026.
 

Successful applicants will receive a grant of €20,000 or equivalent in agreed currency each.

Yes, the grant needs to be used to develop the project you applied for the Creatives For Our Future programme with. If the project changes after you are selected, you may lose your position and award. The grant should not finance university costs or end-of-degree projects.

We select various industry leaders in sustainable development with tremendous influence to make sure we have diverse group of the programme advocates.  This diverse group of advocates include internationally renowned figures from disciplines such as sustainable fashion systems, architecture, art and design, materials science, water conservation, social justice, business strategy, engineering, climate action, academia, sustainable development, and supply chain management.

The masterclasses and mentor sessions are delivered online. During the masterclasses and mentor sessions, participants will be able to present their work, network with industry peers, ask questions and receive feedback from their respective mentors.

Your mentor sessions, as well as all other planned programme activities, will be scheduled by the Swarovski Foundation. We will be regularly in touch with you to ensure that these mentor sessions and programme activities fit within your personal schedule and work commitments. The Swarovski Foundation will facilitate all aspects of communications with your mentors and creative partners. 

The Swarovski Foundation will follow the progress of each cohort member through regular online meetings, and work with them to document their projects throughout the programme. We will schedule mid-programme check in calls and ask cohort members to submit progress reports in November 2025.

In order to record cohort participation and project or creative practice development throughout the course of the programme, the Swarovski Foundation will get in touch with successful applicants to request and support content development and communication assets such as images and videos.

These will be used to promote and showcase the work of the Creatives for Our Future programme and the successful cohort across the Swarovski Foundation’s global communication platforms (including but not limited to the Swarovski Foundation and Creatives For our Future websites, social media platforms, email marketing newsletters, and media outreach).

The following assets will be requested by successful participants at the beginning of the programme: 

• a short biography
• portrait image
• 5-10 images of creative work
• a link to a personal website (if applicable)
• social media handles (Instagram and LinkedIn)
• short Q&A on your sustainable practices
• potential further content

Throughout the course of the programme, the Swarovski Foundation will offer media training and guidance, as well as support to the cohort to help them to produce impactful visual assets that demonstrate their work for increased visibility .